When you're sitting around drinking bubbles and singing Christmas carols or opening presents, it's just not the same without something warm and cheesy to nibble on.

Brie is not the most loved cheese (there are people who find it slightly stinky)...

But when you bake it into an ooey-gooey mess, you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who can resist a taste (or two, or three—or eleven).

And it only gets better when you top it with homemade blackberry and apple jam, candied pecans, and pomegranate seeds!

Because although we can all agree that melty cheese is ridiculously good, when you combine it with slightly tart jam and crunchy pecans, you will NEED a second, third—and eleventh!—helping!

And let’s be honest, it’s darn cute.

It’s a present in itself!

Baked Brie with Blackberry Apple Jam

servings:1 brie wheel with about 1¾ cups jam, serves 8 to 10

Blackberry Apple Jam:

2 cups blackberries, halved

2 medium green apples, peeled + chopped into ½-inch dice

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Baked Brie:

1 brie cheese wheel (16 ounces), rind on

1½ cups Blackberry Apple Jam

½ cup whole blackberries

1 medium green apple, sliced

¼ cup coarsely chopped candied pecans

2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Blackberry Apple Jam:

In medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the blackberries, apples, maple syrup, and vinegar. Bring this mixture to a boil, then a simmer, stirring occasionally, until all of the fruit is purple and has broken down; the liquid should be absorbed and the mixture thick and jam-like—10 to 15 minutes.

Baked Brie:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the top rind off the brie wheel and discard it. Place the brie wheel in a small, round, oven-proof dish, then place the dish on a baking sheet and cook until the cheese is melty—10 to 12 minutes.

Remove the baked brie from the oven and top it with the Blackberry Apple Jam, blackberries, apple slices, pecans, pomegranate seeds, and thyme leaves.

Notes:

As the brie is eaten, there will be less jam at the bottom. Feel free to add the remaining ¼ cup of jam (the amount remaining after putting the 1½ cups of jam on top of the baked brie) to the bottom bit of the brie to increase the jam-to-brie ratio.

The sweet potatoes take on an extra sweetness, complemented by all of those warm fall spices.

Top that goodness with marshmallows, and you have a comforting side that’s always welcome on my Thanksgiving table.

But as much as I like a good sweet potato casserole, they always seem to be missing something.

I've noticed that there's usually no texture--just a lot of mush.

And as much as the sweetness is nice, it gets a little too sweet after a couple bites.

So let’s make a better sweet potato casserole!

One with cinnamon spiced apples to give it a little bite and a slightly sour relief from all that sweet!

Mix that in with the usual suspect and a couple of eggs for a fluffy yet firm dish.

Finally, top it all with a simple (but simply tasty!) cranberry sauce and some crunchy granola and you have a mouthwatering side dish that tastes like your traditional holiday staple--just better!

It's balanced, textured, and so completely addicting.

I like a classic Thanksgiving Day sweet potato casserole as much as the next person, but this sweet potato casserole will make you fall deeply, madly, in LOVE!

Sweet Potato Casserole with Apples + Cranberries

servings:6 ; makes three cups of cranberry sauce

Cranberry Sauce:

One 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries

1 cup granulated sugar

Zest + juice of 1 orange

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Sweet Potato Casserole:

5-6 medium/large sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 apples (about 1 pound), peeled, cored, + diced

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ cup whole milk

⅓ cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1½ cups Cranberry Sauce

5 marshmallows, halved crosswise

⅓ cup granola

Cranberry Sauce:

In a medium pot, add the cranberries, sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and salt. Cover the pot to avoid splattering and cook over medium heat until the mixture reaches a jam-like consistency (keeping in mind that it will thicken as it cools)--about 25 minutes.

Sweet Potato Casserole:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Add the sweet potatoes to a baking sheet, toss them with the oil and ½ teaspoon salt, then cook them until they are fork tender—about 45 minutes. You might also choose to leave the sweet potatoes whole and unpeeled, cooking them until they are fork tender—50-60 minutes.

While the sweet potatoes cook, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until it is browned—about 5 minutes. Add the apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg and cook this mixture until the apples are tender but not mushy—about 2-3 minutes.

Once they are done cooking, remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and turn it down to 375°F (if you left the sweet potatoes whole and unpeeled, peel them once they are cool enough to handle). Add the sweet potatoes to a large bowl and mash them with a fork or potato masher, then mix in the milk, brown sugar and eggs and stir until well combined. Next, stir in the apple mixture along with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt.

Add the apple and potato mixture to a greased 8½ by 11-inch casserole dish and bake until it is firm and slightly darker in color—about 25-30 minutes. Then remove the casserole from the oven and top it with the Cranberry Sauce, marshmallows, and granola. Return it to the oven and cook it until the marshmallows are brown and crispy and the cranberry sauce is dark red—10 minutes more.

Notes:

REHEAT + TOP - To make ahead, prepare the casserole as indicated in the recipe, then bake it for 25-30 minutes at 375°F; however, do not top it with the Cranberry Sauce, marshmallows, and granola. Instead, refrigerate it and on Thanksgiving Day, remove it from the refrigerator and let the casserole sit until it reaches room temperature. Then reheat it in an oven preheated to 375°F for about 10 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and top it with the Cranberry Sauce, marshmallows, and granola. Return it to the oven and cook it until the marshmallows are brown and crispy and the cranberry sauce is dark red—10 minutes more.

ASSEMBLE + BAKE LATER - Or you can leave it raw, so that you only follow Steps 1 through 3 above; refrigerate it until Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving, complete Step 4 to bake and prepare the casserole. You may need to bake it for an extra 5 minutes due to the fact that it will be coming out of the cold fridge.

TIMELINE - You can make the casserole up to 3 days in advance; you can make the cranberry sauce up to 5 days in advance.